UN welcomes major prisoner swap involving 7 countries

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Thursday welcomed a major prisoner exchange involving seven countries in one of the most swap operations in recent years.

Asked about the swap that took place in the Turkish capital of Ankara, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "We obviously welcome the fact that an agreement was able to be found between the various parties and that this exchange was able to happen."

Twenty-six individuals were exchanged and transported on Thursday to Ankara on seven aircraft -- from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and two from the US, according to security sources. Belarus was also involved.

Asked about the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mandate that would be finished at the end of August, Dujarric noted the "critical role and stabilizing role" that the peacekeeping mission holds "in a very unstable part of the world."

"We very much hope the mandate will be renewed," he added.

On Gaza, Dujarric cited information from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and said, "The ongoing hostilities in Gaza, repeated evacuation orders, access impediments and other challenges continue to hamper efforts to reach people with life-saving assistance."